The present invention relates to printing presses and more particularly to hoppers.
Gathering devices such as perfect binders, saddle stitchers and mailroom inserters may use hoppers or feeders to collect sheet material. A saddle stitcher or perfect binder may for example collect folded printed materials fed from hoppers or feeders onto a saddle or perfect binder conveyor, respectively, to form a magazine or other printed product. In the context of the present application, the term hopper and feeder are used synonymously.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,835, purportedly discloses an collating machine which includes a stitcher assembly which stitches a group of signatures while they are moving. A saddle conveyor travels past a collating station and individual signatures are fed from the collating station onto the conveyor to form the group of collated signatures. The conveyor carries the group of collated signatures through the stitcher assembly which binds the signatures in each group together.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,724, hereby incorporated by reference herein, describes a signature collating apparatus such as an inserter having a plurality of hoppers or feeders delivering sheet materials to receiving locations on a conveyor.
U.S. Publication No. 2006/0103064 purportedly discloses modular signature feeders that include a frame having a base configured to enable the modular signature feeder to be removably attached to another modular signature feeder or a signature transfer assembly associated with a signature collation feeder assembly.